This disclosure provides such a process and wipe. These and other advantages, as well as additional inventive features, will be apparent from the present disclosure.
In particular situations people may encounter harmful concentrations of hazardous chemicals. In such situations, it is necessary to wear chemical protective garments of special composition and construction. These protective garments are necessary for providing an effective barrier between the wearer and the chemicals encountered. Protective clothing of many types are well known for many and varied uses including protection from fire, chemical liquids and vapors and other harmful substances. Such clothing is often seen in suits for industrial workers, firemen, hazardous waste workers, chemical workers, race car drivers, airplane pilots and military personnel. Garments include not only complete hermetic suits, but also individual components such as trousers, jackets, gloves, boots, hats, head coverings, masks, etc.
Regulations restricting exposure to hazardous environments of various kinds, such as those contained in the Occupational Safety and Health Act, (OSHA) make it increasingly necessary to have better and more effective kinds of protective clothing.
Protective garments include woven and non-woven fabrics for disposable use. These garments are generally formed from various polymeric films or laminated plastic materials which are intrinsically resistant to dust or liquid penetration and in some cases impervious to chemical vapor penetration. The fabrics are generally spunbonded, meltspun or of non-woven thermoplastic material.
The garments presently available are almost invariably of thick construction and heavy in weight, and are often fabricated at least in part from materials impermeable to water or water vapor, such as natural and synthetic rubbers and elastomers, chlorinated rubbers, etc.
Strong, lightweight chemical protective garment materials made from laminates of different materials are known. U.S. Pat. No. 4,272,851 (Goldstein) describes a film of polyethylene that may be laminated to nonwoven chemical protective apparel. U.S. Pat. No. 4,772,510 (McClure) describes a chemical barrier film laminated to a nonwoven substrate using an adhesive. Other laminates having multiple barrier layers are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,855,178 (Langley); U.S. Pat. No. 4,833,010 (Langley) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,035,941 (Blackburn).
Often, each layer of a chemical protective garment material is chosen to impart a specific property to the composite fabric. Some layers provide strength while other layers may be chosen to provide permeation resistance against specific classes of chemicals. Additional layers add weight and stiffness. However, stiff garments are difficult to assemble and reduce the wearer's mobility.
Clearly, what is needed is a lightweight, chemical protective garment material, having a limited number of distinct layers, which can be assembled into a protective garment. In addition, the applicant recognizes the need for simplified processes to make such chemical protective garment materials.